Laravel5.6 "Call to a member function delete() on null " , delete a row in table

Question

I want to delete a row from table. The function I used in controller is:

public function destroy($id) {
    $category = Category::find($id);
    $category->delete();
    return redirect()->back();
}

However it throws me an error:

Call to a member function delete() on null

When I use this code:

public function destroy($id) {
    $category = Category::find($id);
    dd($id);
 }

It is showing the correct id i.e.

"1"

And when I use

public function destroy($id) {
    $category = Category::find($id);
    dd($category); // or
    dd(Category::find($id);
 }

I get the output

null

on the screen.

[i think that is the same issue](https://stackoverflow.com/questions/40421415/laravel-call-to-a-member-function-delete-on-null) — Isaac Gomes, Apr 27 '18 at 15:17
Just because you created and imported the model class doesn't mean the model you are requested (id of 1) exists. — Devon Bessemer, Apr 27 '18 at 15:18
Possible duplicate of [laravel: Call to a member function delete() on null](https://stackoverflow.com/questions/40421415/laravel-call-to-a-member-function-delete-on-null) — Devon Bessemer, Apr 27 '18 at 15:20
i have two model post and category both have id attribute and yes id 1 exist in db . — Ashar Khan, Apr 27 '18 at 15:23
Check if `Category` points to the proper class. Do `composer dump` to be sure your autoloaders are in the latest. — Chris Cynarski, Apr 27 '18 at 16:11

score 2 · Accepted Answer · edited Apr 27 '18 at 17:52

2

As mentioned in comments, the error you're getting is probably due to no category exists in the database for the given ID.

Then, when you try to find the category for that ID:

$category = Category::find($id);

The value of $category variable is null. Therefore, you get an error for trying to call delete() method on null. Under the hood, it would be the same as doing the following:

null->delete();

Which, doesn't work.

You could check the value of $category before trying to delete it. Or you may use a query to delete all records matching a given condition, in your case id = $id. This way:

public function destroy($id)
{
    Category::where('id', $id)->delete();
    return redirect('/')->back();
}

Refer to Deleting Models By Query in the Eloquent docs for details on how that works.

edited Apr 27 '18 at 17:52

Gustavo Straube

3,744
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answered Apr 27 '18 at 15:38

sebastian larsen

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thaks it works when i used this Category::where('id', $id)->delete(); instead of $category = Category::find($id) ; $category->delete() ; – Ashar Khan Apr 27 '18 at 15:48
can you pls explain me what problem i was getting – Ashar Khan Apr 27 '18 at 15:49
@AsharKhan I've just updated Sebastian's answer to include details on what's happening and why you were getting that error. – Gustavo Straube Apr 27 '18 at 17:53
1

I would argue this only hides the problem, it doesn't solve it. The real question is why Category::find($id) isn't finding your model. Either the $id is wrong, the model doesn't exist, or your model class is set up to use the wrong primary key. In either case, your code should not continue. – Devon Bessemer Apr 27 '18 at 18:35
@Devon It depends on how the OP wants to handle the issue. I've seen apps that simply ignore the non-existent entity and continue the flow. But, yes, I personally would use a `findOrFail()` call or another kind of handling that informs the app's user the record they're trying to delete does not exist. – Gustavo Straube Apr 27 '18 at 18:46

score 0 · Answer 2 · answered Mar 02 '19 at 11:04

What worked for me is the following (I ensured that the $id was passing from the view):

public function destroy($id)
{
    $vendor = Vendor::findorFail($id);
    $vendor->delete():
}

for some reason when I did the following it showed null

public function destroy($id)
{
    $vendor = Vendor::find($id);
    $vendor->delete():
}

This is the view part:

     {!! Form::open(array(
         'style' => 'display: inline-block;',
         'method' => 'DELETE',
         'onsubmit' => "return confirm('".trans("global.app_are_you_sure")."');",
         'route' => ['vendor.destroy', $vendor->vendor_id])) !!}
     {!! Form::submit(trans('global.app_delete'), array('class' => 'btn btn-xs btn-danger')) !!}
     {!! Form::close() !!}

Laravel5.6 "Call to a member function delete() on null " , delete a row in table

2 Answers2